Plucking Cherries unlikely to be a picnic

RUGBY/Gloucester versus Munster the story so far:The Red Army travel full of confidence, but Gloucester's record suggests an edge-of-the-seat Saturday afternoon, writes Gerry Thornley.

THANKS TO the increased capacity at the redeveloped Kingsholm, the Red Army will once again travel in force for tomorrow's Heineken European Cup quarter-final, where black-market tickets are even selling for the showing of the match on the giant screen outside the stadium. And once again they will travel in optimism too, fervently believing Munster can add yet another chapter to their Euro odyssey by reaching their seventh semi-final in nine years.

Contesting a record 10th quarter-final in a row, Munster are the only team to have twice won last-eight ties away from home; they did it against Stade Français and Leicester.

Yet it is a measure of the daunting task facing Declan Kidney's team that not only have 75 per cent, or 33, of the previous 44 quarter-finals been won by the home side but also Munster have lost their last two away-day treks at this stage, against Biarritz in 2005 and Llanelli last season.

Furthermore, in the last two seasons the Cherry and Whites have been beaten only once in 28 games at Kingsholm - when Leicester came calling this season in a repeat of last season's Premiership final - dating back to a 37-32 defeat to Wasps in May 2006.

What's more, they have lost only two of their previous 18 matches at home in the European Cup, a dead rubber against Stade Français in the last round of the pool stages two seasons ago and a surprise defeat against an inspired Agen in round two last season.

In five previous ties against Irish opposition at Kingsholm, they have won the lot, and for all Munster's miraculous powers in the two wins over Gloucester at Thomond Park, it's worth recalling that they were well beaten in their two previous treks to Kingsholm.

The 35-16 defeat in October 2002 remains Munster's heaviest loss since they were beaten 43-23 by Cardiff in the Arms Park in 1997. What made the scale of the defeat so shocking was that Munster had made their second final in three years the previous season.

But far from hitting the ground running in Alan Gaffney's first game as head coach they struggled to live with the tempo set by the expensively-assembled, cosmopolitan, newly-crowned Premiership champions.

Munster had clung on pretty well into a stiff first-half wind and when Ronan O'Gara closed out the half with his third penalty to leave them trailing by one score, 16-9, they seemed reasonably well placed. But the Gloucester pack cranked up the temperature after the interval to virtually starve Munster of the ball and put them on the back foot thereafter. Munster's woes were worsened when Rob Henderson sustained the torn bicep that kickstarted his injury-ravaged years with the province.

The backrow Jake Boer scored two tries off lineout drives and the young right-winger Marcel Garvey marked his European Cup debut by latching onto a crosskick by Ludovic Mercier to score a stunning try. Mercier also crossed for a try and kicked 15 points.

Peter Stringer scrambled over for a contentious late try.

It seemed little more than a consolation score on the slow homeward journey, but it ultimately proved critical, with the help of a taxi-driver, more late dramatics and a "miracle" the following January in Thomond Park.

Of course, that experience left Gloucester in vengeful mood when the sides were drawn to play each other again in back-to-back matches in December the following season.

Despite spending much of the first 40 minutes on the back foot, again Munster had seemed reasonably well placed when three-all at half-time and there was palpable optimism among their supporters.

O'Gara even inched Munster ahead shortly after the interval. But Henry Paul, the villain in Thomond Park the previous January, had a redemptory evening under the Kingsholm lights, kicking 17 points and creating the critical second-half try for James Simpson-Daniel to regain the lead with a sumptuous grubber kick, Paul having added three penalties.

Anthony Horgan scored a try for Munster but Paul completed the scoring with a drop-goal to earn the man-of-the-match award.

That left Munster five points adrift of Gloucester and Gaffney admitting his side needed three wins out of three if Munster were to reach the quarter-finals once more.

That they did though, bonus points at home to Gloucester and Bourgoin either side of one away to Treviso earning them a home quarter-final against Stade Français.

But, as they know only too well, there will be no second chances tomorrow.